Eucharist with Holy Baptism, Sunday, January 6: This Sunday, we rejoice to celebrate the baptism of Charlie (Charlotte) Castro, daughter of Chris and Yohanna and sister to Olivia.
Birthday and Anniversary blessings and Healing Prayers will be given this Sunday, January 6, as is our custom on the first Sunday of the month.
MOM Special Offering, Sunday, January 6: Next Sunday, half the cash in our offering plate and any designated checks will be given to Middleton Outreach Ministry’s food pantry. Here are the current top-ten, most needed items: canned chicken, shelf-stable milk, whole grains; salt, pepper, spices; laundry detergent; vanilla or other extracts; low sugar dried/canned fruits; cooking oil; honey; nuts. Thank you for your generous support!
Epiphany Service of Light, Sunday, January 6, 6pm: Join us as we share the story of the Wise Men who came to honor the infant Jesus, and of how the light of Christ has spread through time and space all the way to here and now! All are welcome. Talk to Rev. Miranda or Sharon Henes if you’d like to be a reader for this service. Afterwards, we’ll share dessert and some saint-related brainstorming; if you loved SaintFest or have a favorite saint (or five), come join the conversation!
Epiphany Home Blessings (Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh, Hot Chocolate, Cookies…): ‘Immanuel’ (God with us) means that God’s presence and joy can shine in every home. During the Epiphany Season (in 2019, January 6 – March 5) we celebrate this with home blessings. You can mark your own door with blessed chalk, or one of our clergy can visit to do a simple house blessing. If you’d like, you could invite other parishioners, or neighbors and friends, to join you, and make it a seasonal party! Dates when Rev. Miranda, Father Tom or Father John could visit are available below the big calendar in the Gathering Area. Use your imagination; prayerfully discern how you might share the joy, this Epiphany!
Sunday School at St. Dunstan’s: Our Sunday school classes for kids meet during 10am worship on the second and third Sundays of most months (January 13 & 20, February 10 & 17). We have three Sunday school classes: for kids age 3 through kindergarten, for grades 1 – 3, and grades 4 – 6. Kids are welcome to try it out at any time, and parents may come along too! If you’d like to get involved, contact Sharon Henes.
THE WEEKS AHEAD…
Open Door Project Prep, Saturday, January 12, 1pm: Our renovations will begin after Easter – which means we need to clean out the spaces involved, & make room for the exciting changes ahead! There will be several opportunities in the weeks ahead for sorting, tidying, boxing up, and hauling away. If you enjoy this kind of work, come pitch in! We’ll begin this coming Saturday at 1pm with the Library Classroom.
Call for Annual Reports: Every year in December/January, we invite our ministry leaders to submit a paragraph or two about what their ministry is and what they’ve done in the past year. We then compile those reports into an Annual Report, and share it with the congregation in advance of our parish Annual Meeting (9am on Sunday, January 20). If you have something you’d like to share, as a special moment, thanksgiving, or success to share, whether from a particular ministry of just something from the life of this household of faith, you’re welcome to submit it to . The deadline for all Annual Report materials is Monday, January 14.
Madison-Area Julian Gathering, Wednesday, January 9, 1:00pm: St. Julian’s era was one of turmoil and crisis. Contemporary reports indicate that at least half the population of Norwich died from the Plague; the clergy and undertakers could not keep up with the dead bodies. Meanwhile, disease killed the cattle, and harvests failed. In 1381, when Julian was thirty-nine, people became so desperate they rose up in a revolt, looting the churches and monasteries. In the midst of all this, Julian came to believe unshakably that “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.” Please join us for contemplative prayer and discussion of Julian’s optimistic theology! For more information, contact Susan Fiore, ObJN .
Men’s Book Club, January 12that 10am: Bring your favorite short story! A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a “single effect” or mood.
Vestry Meeting, Wednesday, January 16, 6:45pm: The Vestry is the elected leadership body of our parish. Any members are welcome to attend our meetings, to observe or raise questions or ideas.
Annual Parish Meeting, Sunday, January 20, 9am: Come to hear parish updates, including the 2019 budget, and help elect our parish leaders. All are welcome to attend!
Outreach Committee Meeting, Saturday, January 26, 8-10:30am: All are welcome to join our conversations about how St. Dunstan’s can best serve the world with our resources and our hands. We begin with an optional potluck breakfast at 8am.
Epiphany Pageant, Sunday, January 27: The children of St. Dunstan’s will present a pageant telling the story of Jesus’ birth and the visit of the Wise Men on Sunday, January 28. There will be a rehearsal after church on Sunday, January 20. All kids are welcome to participate!
A Crash Course in Liturgical Space, 9am on February 3, 10, 17 & 24: Come explore what it means to have a place of worship and what our place of worship says about us, in a series of discussions based on the work of liturgical scholar Richard Giles. No homework necessary, and it’s OK if you can’t come to all the sessions. All ages welcome – these conversations would be enriched by some generational breadth!